Rotary engine.



10.791,694. Y PATENTED'J'UNM, 1905. A f 0.0. HUDSON a; C. W. DANIELL.

ROTARY ENGINE. APPLIGATION 'FILED AUG. 5, 1904.

lnvantoz! No.l 791,694.

UNITED STATES Patented June 6, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFFORD O. HUDSON vAND CAMMIE W. DANIELL, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

ROTARY ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 791,694, dated J' une 6, 1905. u Application filed August, 1904. Serial No. 219,687.

To rif/,ZZ whom if may concern:

Be it known that we, CLIFFORD O. HUDSON and OAMMIE W. DANIELL, citizens of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is a specification.

y against undue speed or running away of the engine; and to this end the invention consists in mechanism automatically controlled by the engine-governor and operative to adjust a valve in the steam-supply pipe.

Another object of the inventionis to control the speed limit of the engine; and to this end the invention consists in the provisions of means manually adjustable to limit the enl gine to a desired speed.

The preferred embodiment of the details of construction of our invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Wherein-- Figure 1 is a view in elevation, partly in section, illustrating a rotary engine constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line of Fig. 1. Figf is a sectional view through vthe engine-cylinder, taken on the line y y,

Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the valve-controlling cams, showing the valve-rod in coperation therewith.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents 'an engine-cylinder particularly designed for a rotary engine and of any preferred type. The

main shaft 2 of the engine passes centrallyv through the cylinder, being supported in the usual casing-bearings, as shown.

, A piston-.head 3 is fixed on the main shaft interiorly of the cylinder, being of a size to steam-fit'the cylinder, as will be understood. Thev piston-head is circumferentially grooved or recessed to provide a steamway 4, said re- Cess being preferably arranged centrally of the head to leave side walls 5 on each peripheral edge of the head. The sidewalls are 5o cut away or recessed, as at 6, said recesses extending laterally from the steamway and being arranged in alinement across-the pe, riphery of the head-that is, a recess 6 in one wall 5 is directly opposite a similar recess 55 in the other wall. l Each pair of recesses, together with the space of the steamway included within the plane joining the end walls of said recesses, forms what we term a gateway to provide space for the operation of a gate. 6o The gateways may of course be formed in any desired number in the piston-head, three such ways being shown in the present instance.

The gates 7 of which there are one for each gateway, comprise comparatively flat bodies,

preferably metallic, pivoted at their lower ends on the walls 5 of the piston-head, the pivotal connection being arranged adjacent the inner or lower edge of the front walls of the recesses 6 in the direction of movement of the 70 piston-head. The steamway 4 is recessed, as

at 8, immediately beneath the gateway to provide a gate-receiving aperture in which the gates are pressed by the cylinder-cam to be described. The recesses 8 are of a depth to 75 fully receivethe gates, so that the outer surface of the latter will lie in a plane ofthe base or bottom of the steamway 4 when the gates are closed. A spring 9 is secured in each recess 8 with its free end connected to or lbear- 80 ing against the gate, cooperating With such recess, the arrangement being such that the springs operate to force the gates to open position, as will be hereinafter described.

A gate-operating cam'lO is secured inte- 85 l gates 7 willlride on the cam 10 and be forced down into the recesses 8 against the tension of spring 9, this being the closed or inoperative position of the gates. As the gates ride beyond the abutment end of the cam the springs 9 operate to elevate the gates to operative position-that is, with their free ends bearing against the interior surface of the cylinder and their front surfaces bearing against the walls of the recesses 6, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The steam admitted through inlet 11 acts against the gate in one direction and against the fixed abutment 12 in the opposite direction, revolving the piston-head and main shaft. An exhaust 13 leads from the cylinder, being located to exhaust from behind the gate just previous to the movement of the succeeding gate to normal position. As the exhaust is not instantaneous, the steam behind the gate just passing the exhaust will operate to cushion the gate being forced to operative position beneath the inlet 11.

To provide for the admission of steam only when the gate is in operative position beneath the inlet 11, we arrange a valve in the steaminlet pipe adjacent the cylinder. The valve comprises a casing 14, suitably connected with the steam-inlet pipe, and a cylindrical valve 15, arranged for movement longitudinally of the casing. The valve is formed with a horizontal port 16, arranged in a suitable operation of the valve to register with the bore of the steam-inlet pipe and permit free access of the steam to the cylinder. A sleeve 17, movably keyed on the main shaft 2 adjacent the cylinder, is directly connected with the springs 18 of the governor. rlhe sleeve is recessed on its surface, as at 19, to provide for the reception of valve-operating cams 20. It is to be understood that the cams 2O are similar in number to the piston-gates and that said cams are so arranged upon the surface of the sleeve 17 as to operate the valve to admit steam only when a gate has just passed the cam 10 and been forced to operative or open position by the springs 9. The cams 2O are of peculiar construction, being' rounded or inclined in both longitudinal and transverse directionsthat is, the cam viewed longitudinally inclines upward from the end nearest the cylinder, as at 21-said incline terminating in a plane portion 22, practically parallel with the main shaft of the engine and inclining or sloping from said portion 22 to provide a reduced portion 28 at the end of the cam remote from the cylinder. Viewed in a transverse direction the cam is upwardly rounded, as at 24, beginning practically coincident with the surface of the sleeve 15 and terminating some distance above said surface to provide an abrupt wall 25. The rounded portion 24 slopes upward in the direction of travel of the sleeve-that is, the abrupt wall 25 is at the rear of the cam in the direction of its movement.

A rod 26, squared in cross-section to prevent rotation of the valve 15, depends from said valve, passing through a guide-arm 27 and rounded at its lower end, asat 28. In the normal or steam-taking position of the parts the rounded end 28 of the rod coperates with the horizontal or highest part 22 of the cam 20, in which position the valve-port is in complete registry with the steam-inlet pipe. The valve is spring-pressed in a downward direction by spring 29, bearing against the valve-casing and the valve, and guided by rod 30, depending from the casing and fitting an opening in the valve, the spring 29 preferably encircling the rod 30, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the initial arrangement of the parts prior to the starting of the engine rounded end 28 of the valve-rod rests in the reduced end 23 of the cam, in which position valve 15 is moved -upward to only partially register its port 16 with the steam-inlet pipe, thus gradually starting the piston-head. As the engine gains in speed the end of the rod rides up onto the portion 22 of the carn--that is, the governorsprings have been spread by the centrifugal movement of the balls, drawing the sleeve in a direction away from the cylinder, thus presenting the portion 22 of the cam in the path of the lower end 28, so that said end in riding up the incline 24 in the revolution of the sleeve will ride over the portion 22 of the cam. This being the highest elevation of the cam, the valve-port is in complete registry with the steam-inlet, giving free access to the cylinder from the supply. As the engine gains additional speed the movement of the governor will draw the sleeve further along the shaft, presenting a gradually-decreasing plane of cam in the path of the rod 26, thus opening valve 15 less and less as the engine gains in speed. We also provide for locking the valve in a closed position to wholly shut olf the steam-supply in the event of a sudden change in the load, the mechanism for this purpose being clearly illustrated in Fig. 1. A flange 81 projects eircumferentially from the sleeve 17 and is formed in the face remote from the cylinder, with a circumferential groove 32, the lower wall of which is on a plane with the surface of the cylinder, while the upper wall is inclined upwardly, as at 33, to provide a iaring mouth for the recess. A shoe 34 is secured to or formed integral with the rod 26, near the lower end thereof, the upper edge of the shoe being inclined upwardly from its free end. Should the engine get beyond control or run away through change of load or other cause, the governor would operate to draw the sleeve 17 longitudinally of the lnain shaft until the inclined shoe 34 rides into the recess 32, thus locking the valve-rod against upward movement and holding the valve closed. The

incline on the upper edge of the shoe and the inclined wall 33 of the recess 32 materially IOO IIO

aids in seating the shoe within the recess, as will be understood.

It is evident that at a certain speed or nujmber of revolutions of the pistonelicadthe valvebe reached in a greater or less number ofy y* revolutions than normal it follows that the engine may be set at any speedlimit desired. We provide such means by locatingy a collar 35 on the main shaft and arranging a spring between the governor and sleeve and is freely.

36 between saidy collar and the end of sleeve 17, it being understood that the collar is located movable longitudinally of the shaft. Beyond the governor-disk we arrange a second collar 37, having a circumferentially-grooved ange 38. Rods 39 join the collars 35 and 37, passing through suitable openings in the governordisk. A lever 40, fitting in the groove of flange 38 to permit revolution of collar 37 without turning the lever, projects laterally of the main shaft and is connected to a horizontally-arranged arm 41, passing at kits free end through blocks 42, secured to the mainshaft bearing 43. Aset-screw 44 in one of 'said blocks 42 prevents movement of the rod 41 when adjusted. l

It is evident from the construction described I that longitudinal movement of rod 41 will increase or decrease the 'tension of spring 3,6 between collar 35 and sleeve 17 and that such increase or decrease will retard or increase the effective movement of the governor under a fixed speed of the engine, hence locking the valve-rod against movement at a higher or a lower speed. Thus the limit' of speed of the engine may be readily determined by moving the rod 41 to increase or decrease the tension of spring 36. Thus decreasing the tension will permit the governor to draw sleeve 17 to locking position under a less number of revolutions of the piston than normal, while increasing the spring tension will reverse the operation. Therefore by adjusting rod 41 thelvalve may be locked closed at any determined or desiredspeed.

It is evident that many and varied changes may be made in the structural form of our engine without departing from the spirit of our invention, and we desire it understood as we consider all mechanical changes obvious from the knowledge gained from the above description as within the scope of my invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1 In an engine, a main shaft, a steam-inlet pipe, a valve arranged in said pipe, a governor for the engine, means normally in connection with and operated bythe governor for controlling the position of the valve, and means operated by the governor when the engine reaches its maximum speed for locking the valve in closed position.

2. In a rotary englne, a main shaft, a steaminlet pipe, a valve arranged in said pipe, a govyernor for the engine, camsconnected to the governor and arranged to control the position of the valve, and means operated by the governor for locking the valve in closed position.

3. In a rotary engine, a main shaft, a steaminlet pipe, avalve arranged in said pipe, a governor for the engine, a sleeve longitudinally movable on the main shaft, cams fixed in said sleeve, said cams being arranged to operate the valve, connections between the sleeve and governor, means connected to the governor for locking the valve in closed position, and means to vary the movement of the governor .with respect to the speedl of the engine.

4. In a rotary engine, a main shaft, a steaminlet pipe, a valve arranged in said pipe, a governor for the engine, a sleeve longitudinally movable on the main shaft, cams fixed in said sleeve, said cams being arranged vto operate the valve, connections between the sleeve and governor, means connected to the governorl for locking the valve in closed position, and

adjustable means to vary the movement of the i -operating within the cylinder, movable gates carried by the piston, a steam-inlet pipe, a valve in said pipe,a main shaft connected with the piston, cams carried-by the shaft, and arranged to open the valveimmediately succeeding the-passage of a gate beneath the steaminlet of the cylinder, a governor for the engine, and a locking-fiange connected with the governor-sprmgs and operated 1n the move- IOO IIO

ment of the governor to .lock the valve in.,

closed position.

7. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, a piston, a main shaft, a steam-inlet pipe, a valve arranged'in said pipe, means connected to the shaft and arranged to operate the valve, a governor for the enginekconnections between the governor and said valve-operating means, a locking-disk connected to and movable with the valve-operating means, and means to vary`the movement of the governor with respect to the speed of the engine.

8. A rotary engine, comprising a cylinder, a piston, a main shaft, a steam-inlet pipe, a

valve arranged in said pipe, means connected to the shaft and arranged to operate the valve,

a governor for the engine, connections between the governor and said valve-operating means, a locking-disk connected to and movable with the valve-operating means, and adjustable means to vary the movement of the governor with respect to the speed of the engine.

9. A rotary engine, comprising a main shaft, a cylinder, a piston for operating the shaft, a steam-inlet pipe,avalve arranged in said pipe, a rod depending from the valve, a sleeve fixed on the main shaft, cams fixed in said sleeve, said cam being arranged to control the position of the valve, a governor for the engine, connections between the governor and sleeve, said sleeve being provided with a circumferential ange arranged to engage and lock the valve in closed position, a collar movable lengthwise the shaft between the governor and sleeve, a spring between the collar and sleeve, and means for varying the tension of said spring.

l0. A rotary engine, comprising a main shaft, a cylinder, a piston for operating the shaft, a steam-inlet pipe, a valve arranged in said pipe, a rod depending from the valve, a sleeve fixed on the main shaft, cams Xed in said sleeve, said cam being arranged to con trol the position of the valve, connections between a governor and sleeve, said sleeve being provided with a circumferential liange arranged to engage and lock the valvein closed position,a collar movable lengthwise the shaft between the governor and sleeve, a spring between the collar and sleeve, and adjustable means for varying the tension of said spring.

11. In an engine, a main shaft, a steam-inlet pipe, a valve arranged in said pipe, a governor for the engine, means operated by the governor for controlling the position ot' the valve, means operated by the governor when the engine reaches its maximum speed for locking the valve in closed position, and means for regulating the action of the governor and first-named means to vary thc maximum Speed.

In testimony whereof we aiiix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

CLIFFORD C. HUDSON. GAMMlE W. DAN IEL'L.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK C. SHANNON, SAM A. OZBURN. 

